Our customer was selling a reel-to-reel plotter which dispensed liquid reagents in lines onto reels of membrane which are then used to produce lateral flow tests. The system they used did not provide any form of quality analysis and if the product could be provided with a high level of quality assurance, they felt this could privide them with a marketing edge.
Service level and high quality products are extremely important in terms of customer perception and backing this up, with proven technological methods, reinforces the brand and improves customer retention.
Retrofit and integration into existing production line
We were engaged to produce an inspection system that would work with the current solution adding in the quality inspection. We developed a machine stage which could be bolted into the existing machine between the plotting section and the drying ovens called an IsoEye.
The IsoEye uses a high-speed line scan camera system to capture the presence of plotted lines. It is supplied with both red and blue lighting to allow for different membrane / reagent combinations. The camera captures a line scan image every 0.1mm and these are built up in a bespoke PC application into 20mm images. The application analyses each image and superimposes results on the image and displays these on the PC screen.
Traceability and audit
Counts for good / wasted material are recorded in a log file based upon batch information entered at the start of a batch run for analysis. We built the first IsoEye in 2008 and have continued to manufacture the IsoEye and develop the system to support changes in current operating systems and hardware. The latest system is on a Windows 10 platform fan-less PC with the latest GigE camera technology and LED lighting.
